How To Install Python 3.9 on Ubuntu 18.04

Tech World 2020-10-20 Channel: Linux

Abstract: update the apt cache and install Python 3.9 on Ubuntu. sudo apt updatesudo apt install python3.9

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Python is an object-oriented, high-level programming language. It is open-source with a large community. Python is used as a key language among the top tech companies like Google.

The latest stable version Python 3.9 is out with several improvements and security updates. It included multiple new modules, improved existing modules and many other features.

This tutorial will help you to install Python 3.9 on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS system. You will find two methods to install Python. First method will use deadsnakes PPA to install Python. The second method will use Python’s source code for the installation.

Follow the below tutorial and choose one method to install Python 3.9. Both the methods are tested with the latest Ubuntu 18.04 system.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the Python installation, install some required packages on your system. Login to your Ubuntu system and execute following commands:

sudo apt update 
sudo apt install software-properties-common

Install Python 3.9 Using Apt-Get

The Apt package manager provides simple way for installing Python 3.9 on Ubuntu system. Follow the steps below:

Open a terminal on your system and configure deadsnakes PPA to your system.
```
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa 
```
Once you added the PPA on your Ubuntu system, update the apt cache and install Python 3.9 on Ubuntu.
```
sudo apt update 
sudo apt install python3.9 
```
Wait for the installation to complete. Check the Python version by executing:
```
python3.9 -V 

Python 3.9.6
```

That’s it. Python 3.9 is installed on your Ubuntu system and ready to use.

Install Python 3.9 Using Source Code

As the Debian packages are available, We don’t recommend installing Python 3.9 packages from source code. But in some cases, you may need to install Python from the source code.

So follow the below instructions to install Python 3.9 using source code on Ubuntu 18.04 Linux system.

First of all, install essential packages for compiling source code. Open a terminal and execute following commands:

sudo apt install wget build-essential checkinstall 
sudo apt install libreadline-gplv2-dev libncursesw5-dev libssl-dev \
    libsqlite3-dev tk-dev libgdbm-dev libc6-dev libbz2-dev libffi-dev zlib1g-dev

Now, download the Python 3.9 source code from the official download site. Switch to a relevant directory and use wget to download the source file.
```
cd /opt 
sudo wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.9.6/Python-3.9.6.tgz 
```

Next, extract the downloaded archive file and prepare the source for the installation.

tar xzf Python-3.9.6.tgz 
cd Python-3.9.6 
sudo ./configure --enable-optimizations

Python source is ready to install. Execute make altinstall command to install Python 3.9 on your system.
```
sudo make altinstall 
```
make altinstall is used to prevent replacing the default python binary file /usr/bin/python.
The Python 3.9 has been installed on Ubuntu 18.04 system. Verify the installed version:
```
python3.9 -V 

Python 3.9.6
```
Remove the downloaded archive to free space
```
sudo rm -f /opt/Python-3.9.6.tgz 
```